About

The International Screen Institute, is a non-profit organisation (e.V.) providing first class training for European and international film and TV creatives and executives. We offer a wide range of courses for all levels of experience, from beginners to top executives and company owners.

The ethos of all courses will adhere to the key five pillars of ISI. These are:

  • quality of teaching by industry experts
  • collaboration between industry sectors and across borders
  • the latest in digital innovation affecting the industry
  • inclusion of all participants regardless of ethnicity, gender, socio economic background or sexual orientation
  • prioritise sustainability in terms of ‘greener’ and more ethical practices at every level and stage of the process.

The Screen Institute Team brings years of practical, hands-on experience to the table to ensure all courses are delivered by high profile industry practitioners, who are the best in their field.

These industry experts and professional trainers will share their knowledge and expertise in a wide range of short and extended courses with the aim to improve the skillsets of film makers and executives as well as building confidence and industry connections to benefit both the individual and their organisation or company in our rapidly growing industry.

Our Team

Niki Nikitin

Nikolaj Nikitin

Head of Studies

International Screen Institute and SOFA Head of Studies Nikolaj Nikitin is the Artistic Director of the Palic European Film Festival, a Curator of his own section (Critics’ Picks) at the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival and a Senior programmer of the Stockfish Festival in Iceland.

Nikolaj has been a delegate to the Berlin Film Festival for 18 years and been working for the past two and a half decades as a film curator and critic for numerous film festivals around Europe and the Goethe-Institut/Institut français.

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He is the founder of the independent German film magazine »Schnitt« (1995) and the film editing festival Filmplus (2001) and has been a member of many international coproduction juries. He advises European funding bodies, lectures and teaches at film schools and film festivals around the world.
Nikolaj lives in Berlin and is a member of EFA, FIPRESCI as well as a General Assembly member of CINEUROPA.

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Fatima Rose Unica

Coordinator Operations

Contact Fatima:

fatima@screeninstitute.eu

+43 670 652 2910

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Multi-cultural and globetrotter. Fatima was born and raised in Italy with Filipino origins. She moved to the UK at the age of 19 to pursue her studies in International Tourism Business Management at The University of Birmingham. She has extensive knowledge within the tourism field and gained lots of experience in the tourism and hospitality industry by working for Crowne Plaza, Hyatt Regency, and TravelPerk.

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Fatima has also worked for government bodies in the UK and volunteered for a few NGOs in Italy by participating in different youths’ European projects in Estonia and Mexico. All these opportunities allowed her to develop sector knowledge and gain hands-on experience, as well as to expand transferable skills such as personal development, leadership, and adaptability. As a customer-focused and experienced in communication and relationship building, Fatima is excited to put into practice all her experiences as the Course Administrator for ISI.

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John Viduya

Course Administrator

Contact John:

john@screeninstitute.eu

+43 670 354 505 24

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John, born in Manila but grew up in Vienna. He masters three languages: German, English and Tagalog (Filipino). After his apprenticeship as a consultant in one of the Big Four tax firms, John decided to challenge himself in a different field. He joined the United Nations Peacekeeping as a Soldier and went on Medical Missions for almost 3 years.

After his return, he then went straight to Marketing where he gained most of his skills in publishing and advertising. From Social Media Content Creator to Copywriter to Art Director, John is excited to put all his skills and experiences as Course Administrator for ISI.

Course Directors

Katja Schwarz

Katja Schwarz

Course Director

Katja is an experienced consultant for sustainable filmmaking and media production. Her credo is: There can be no "greenness” without fairness, equal opportunities and chances. Therefore she is eager to improve conditions for all in the film and media businesses to obtain sustainability including all economical, ecological, cultural and social aspects.

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Katja has been working for film, television and online media since 1993. More than a decade she spent in film production management and early film related online offers. She went on to head the press and PR department of Odeon Film Group in Munich where in 2010 she additionally took on the new remit of the sustainability officer, thus actually laying the foundations for green filmmaking in the German-speaking region.

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For several years now she has been consulting, teaching and writing for production companies, broadcasters, institutions, festivals and film schools like German public broadcasters ARD and ZDF, funk, Goethe-Institute Los Angeles, Barents Ecology Film Festival, naturvision filmfestival, Producers’ Alliance or Film Academy Baden-Wuerttemberg to promote the concept of sustainability in media productions. Since January 2022 in this capacity she is employed at Tolle Idee! Network, Munich. Katja is a member of German Green Film & TV Consultants Association, Filmmakers 4 Future and journalists’ association.

Maria

Maria-Christine Rieder

Course Director

Head of Legal at Terra Mater Studios GmbH over the last 11 years.

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Maria-Christine has been managing all legal and business aspects of audio-visual content (film, TV, format), ranging from development (including rights acquisition) to financial structuring, (co-)production, to distribution of over 400 hours of media content. She has been the interface to talent, producers, broadcasters, major studios, streamers etc. In her previous role as the Head of Legal and Business Affairs Content Sales International at ORF Enterprise she was responsible for ORF and third-party content distribution contracts, applying her acquired knowledge from working at copyright law firms in Munich and Vienna and her postgraduate studies.

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Kai May

Course Director

Lawyer and Partner, UNVERZAGT Rechtsanwälte Partnergesellschaft mbB

Intellectual Property, Copyright and Media law (TV, Motion Pictures and Entertainment) and Structured Finance for Intellectual Properties

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Kai May’s expertise stems from 15 years of experience in the film industry as a managing director/CEO of film production companies. His area of practice, therefore, covers not only the legal but also the business aspects of film and tv productions and other media and entertainment products like video/computer games. He advices national and international clients on the full life cycle of audio-visual content (film, TV, OTT) from rights acquisition, through the stages of development, financing, structuring and (co-) production, until exploitation and distribution, including the evaluation of film libraries and the improvement of revenue streams.

He is also a lecturer at Film University Babelsberg.

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Síle Culley

Lab Director

Síle is a freelance Audience Designer and Development consultant based in Dublin.

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With nearly a decade of experience working in Sales and Distribution, Síle now runs an Audience Design consultancy helping independent producers and established production companies identify potential audiences for their films and the positioning of their projects in the ever-competitive marketplace. Since she began, her contribution as Audience Designer has led to international premieres at top festivals, world sales and theatrically-released titles, and successful applications with Creative Europe, the BAI and Screen Ireland.

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Síle is a member of the European Film Academy and the founder of The Breakfast Club, a peer-to-peer network for women working in the Business of Film in Ireland. She is an alumni of Berlinale Talents, Torino Film Lab, LIM Less Is More and the NFTS.

Julia

Julia Short

Course Director

With over 25 years of working in the film industry from production to distribution Julia Short has always had a passion for training. She is keen that opportunities that weren’t available to her when she was developing her career are made available to those working in the industry now.

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Actively involved in delivering training … For 7 years Julia ran the Marketing & Distribution Course for the Media Business School in Ronda, Spain and was Director of Content for the Creative Europe/ScreenSkills funded senior executive training programme Inside Pictures, as well as delivering training programmes for Screen Skills Ireland, Film Distributor’s Association, Focus in Scotland, and Creative England.

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Julia has been a driving force in creating ISI when the UK announced it would be leaving the EU and wanted to continue working with those in the international industry.

From a background in advertising and consumer PR, she joined PolyGram, the first European studio, where she was responsible for running the UK theatrical marketing and publicity departments. During her time, she had the honour of releasing such films as WHEN WE WERE KINGS, TRAINSPOTTING, FOUR WEDDINGS AND A FUNERAL, FARGO, TWELVE MONKEYS and THE USUAL SUSPECTS, followed by stints as Deputy Managing Director of Redbus (now Lionsgate), and Head of Marketing at Film Four Distribution.

In 2003 she set her own UK distribution company, VERVE PICTURES with Colin Burch during which time she acquired and released Andrea Arnold’s RED ROAD, the Oscar nominated DOGTOOTH and Craig Gillespies LARS AND THE REAL GIRL. This was followed by two years as Head of International Acquisitions for a UK sales company.

Since 2013 she has worked freelance and been involved in various aspects of the film industry where she was a consultant to producers and, on Danny Boyle’s T2: Trainspotting, worked on the film from pre-production right through to its international release and worked with Pulse Films, Dogwoof, MBC Studio’s and the BFI.

Founding Members

Funding Providers

Supporting Partners

Partnerships

Board

Czezik mueller800

Dinah Czezik-Müller

Chairwoman

Ambrosch800

Heinrich Ambrosch

Deputy Chairman

Michael Frenschkowski800

Michael Frenschkowski

Treasurer

Rieder800 Kopie

Maria-Christine Rieder

Secretary